Cyndi Roberts
editor@cynroberts.com

1 Frugal Friend 2 Another
http://www.cynroberts.com

Here are a few tried-and-true easy ideas
for saving time and your energy (and maybe
even your sanity!)in the kitchen!

1. When a bottle of corn syrup or pancake
syrup is almost empty and that last
bit is taking forever to come out--
just warm it in the microwave for a
few seconds. It will be thinner and it
will run right out!

2. When a recipe says to cover with aluminum foil while baking, just turn a cookie sheet upside down over the dish. Saves time and foil!

3. If your bananas begin to turn brown before you can use them, put them in the fridge! The skins will turn really brown, but the inside will stay fresh for several more days.

4. To make uniform sized muffins in a hurry,
use an ice cream scoop to fill the cups. It is
also lots neater!

5. To get that onion smell out of your hands after
you've been peeling and chopping onions, sprinkle
table salt on your hands and rub them together.
Wash with soap and water and the smell will be
gone!

6. Did you know that any brand of bottled Italian
Salad Dressing makes a good marinade for meat?

7. When browning ground beef, try using a pastry
blender to break the meat into smaller pieces.
It works much better than a fork.

8. Canned chicken broth is a very tasty addition
to any canned vegetable, instead of water. You
might want to use the fat-free version.

9. Hate to spend the time it takes to clean that
crockpot with the baked-on food? Line your
slow-cooker with foil before adding recipe
ingredients and clean up is a snap!

10. To make all your pancakes the same size, use
your gravy ladle to pour the batter!

11. Your potato masher will mash bananas for banana
bread or avocadoes for guacamole in a hurry!

12. Buy several oranges and lemons when they are on
sale. Put them in the freezer in zip-top bags.
When a recipe calls for juice, just defrost in
the microwave. When a recipe calls for grated peel,
it's easy to grate while frozen.

13. Add a dash of vinegar to the water when
boiling cabbage. You won't taste it, but it will
cut down on the strong aroma.

14. For easier, faster grating, store fresh ginger in
the fridge.

15. Use your bottle brush or a clean old toothbrush
to clean the grater after grating onions or cheese.
Much faster and no more scraped hands!

16. To easily remove marshmallow creme from the jar,
dip your spoon or knife in hot water first.

17. For easy-to-peel baked sweet potatoes, rub the
skin with vegetable oil before baking. The skins will
come right off.

18. Peel your vegetables over a half sheet of
newspaper. When you're finished, just fold up and throw
it all away!

19. To keep your graham cracker pie crust from getting
soggy, be sure to use only butter or regular maragarine.
Don't use the new low-fat spreads. You can also bake it
to keep it crisp. Just let it cool before adding filling.

20. When broiling meat, put 1/2 cup of water in the
drip pan. There will be no smoke and cleanup is a snap!

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Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the bi-weekly newsletter
"1 Frugal Friend 2 Another", bringing you practical,
money-saving tips, recipes and ideas. Visit her online at
http://www.cynroberts.com to subscribe and receive the
Free e-course, "Taming the Monster Grocery Bill".